THUNDER BAY - Conservative Party of Canada leadership hopeful, Derek Sloan, was making his rounds through Northwestern Ontario this week, campaigning on a platform of putting Canada first, which has drawn comparisons to political rhetoric south of the border.
“I think when Canadians get to know me they can make up their own mind. Depending on what they mean by that, it can be positive or negative,” Sloan said.
“I don’t think personality wise I’m exactly like Trump, I think I’m maybe a little more nuanced. But in the sense of wanting to put Canada first, in the sense of wanting to promote Canadian manufacturing, and in the sense of not caring what the political correct narrative is, I would say those are some similarities.”
Sloan, a self-identified social conservative MP in the Hastings-Lennox and Addington riding, made stops throughout the northwest this week, including Thunder Bay on Friday, where he spoke to approximately 30 people at the Valhalla Inn.
According to Sloan, conservatives in the northwest have similar concerns to rural Canadians across the country, including issues involving resource development and out-migration.
“People are concerned about rural atrophy, kids not staying around and the fact that there not being as many opportunities as there used to be,” he said. “The concern here is particularly around resources development and making sure the government is favourable towards and encouraging towards resource development.”
Northwestern Ontario is also facing a declining population and according to a report released in 2015 by the North Superior Workforce Planning Board, the Thunder Bay District alone will need 50,000 immigrants within 25 years to replenish an aging population.
Sloan’s platform on immigration calls for reducing target immigration levels from 350,000 per year to 150,000 per year, but he said his plan would actually benefit regions like the northwest.
“My immigration plan would reduce immigration overall for the country, but it would also encourage people to come up to places like Thunder Bay,” he said. “My immigration plan for those entering Canada would require them to go to certain places.”
On the environment, Sloan wants to pull Canada out of the Paris Agreement because he says it sets unrealistic targets and harms resource development.
“We have to reduce emissions by 30 per cent in the next decade based on our targets, China can actually increase their emissions for the next 30 years,” he said. “That impacts manufacturing, it impacts resource development in Canada. I am all for environmental conservation, but I am adamantly in favour of resource development across Canada and here in the north.”
Sloan also feels the federal government has mishandled the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he would have handled things differently by issuing travel bans earlier and avoiding shutting down the entire economy.
“I don’t believe in complete shutdowns. A complete shutdown that is subsidized by the government is sort of an end of the world solution that you can only do one time,” he said.
“If this happens again one year from now or two years from now, we can’t spend a third of a trillion dollars every six months or every two years. I believe in targeted approaches.”
Throughout the campaign, Sloan has generated headlines and criticism relating to his right-wing stance on issues like the LGBTQ2S+ community, characterizing anti-pipeline protestors as radical extremists, and questioning of Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Medical Office of Health, worked for Canada or China.
But Sloan said there is a difference between right-wing radicalism and true conservatism.
“Conservatism is not racist,” he said. “The radical right wing and the radical left wing are similar in that they don’t believe in free speech, they believe in government control of things, they believe in a system that is predicated on a class than your individuality.”
“True conservatism and true liberalism is about individuality. Everyone is different and everyone stands and falls on their own merit. That’s what conservatism is about.”
Even on the campaign trail in Northwestern Ontario Sloan drew criticism after moving a meeting from a restaurant in Fort Frances where the owners said the money from the event would be donated to Borderland Pride.
Sloan said the owners of the restaurant wanted to make a media stunt out of the situation.
“The evening before we got there they put out a text saying they disagreed with everything I stand for,” he said. “They were trying to make a big show of it. I am not here to make a show. I am here to meet with members. I felt based on what they did there might be a hostile environment for the members.”
Sloan has also drawn comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump, with a recent Globe and Mail piece calling him the ‘Canadian Trump.’
“I’m flattered that they would suggest I am on track to exceed expectations and become the next prime minster of Canada,” Sloan said. “They of course meant that in a negative way.”
Conservative Party of Canada members will select a new leader by Aug. 21, 2020, when all postal ballots are expected to be received and processed.
Long-time Conservative Party member and former minister under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Peter MacKay, is the front-runner, followed by MP Erin O’Toole, and candidate Leslyn Lewis and Sloan trailing behind.
The leadership race was launched after former leader Andrew Scheer announced he would be stepping down. The leadership election was to be held in June but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
